Wednesday, August 19, 2015

The fire departments of DeWitt and Jamesvillebrought their trucks for the kids to see inside!

Kids get really excited when they hear the sound of a fire truck coming down the street. The brave men and women who wear uniforms and help keep us safe are big parts of our community. Going along with this year's CSLP theme of "Every Hero Has a Story," I planned a Community Heroes storytime. This is a great way to introduce children to police officers, firefighters, and paramedics; you can even invite them to your library so kids can see the types of uniforms they wear and the vehicles they drive!BOOKS:

Keeping You Safe: A Book About Police Officers by Ann OwenMy Truck is Stuck! by Kevin LewisI’m Brave! by Kate McMullanOfficer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy RathmannClothesline Clues to Jobs People Do by Kathryn Heling

I gave scarves to the kids, and I used jingle bells to sound the "bell." When the "bell" went off, the kids waves their scarves around. It was super fun!

Song: "Obsessed By Trucks"
by Justin Roberts (from CD Jungle Gym)

This is a fun song for the kids to dance to. Put out a bunch of instruments and have them "drive" around the room.

CRAFT:

Officer Buckle Hat

I found a template for a police hat here, and cut out all the pieces ahead of time. The kids assembled their hat with a glue stick. I gave the parents construction paper bands that they fit around their child's head. I love when I can connect a craft directly to a book!

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

This year's Summer Reading Program theme, Every Hero Has a Story, is my favorite! There are so many programs and book displays you can do with this theme, and who doesn't love superheroes? The kids at my library are nuts for them and our books are always checked out. It was a no-brainer to plan a Superhero storytime for my toddler and preschool groups! KA-POW! BAM! Okay, I'll stop now.

BOOKS:

Supertruck by Stephen SavageTen Rules of Being a Superhero by Deb PiluttiThe Amazing Adventures of Bumblebee Boy by David SomanMighty Max! by Harriet ZiefertThe Day I Lost My Superpowers by Michael Escoffier

RHYMES & SONGS:Flannel Rhyme: A Superhero Suits Up

What's that sound? I heard the call!
For I'm the greatest superhero of them all!

I'm off, I'm ready, I'm almost there!
Oh wait... I'm in my underwear?

I'll need my cape to help me fly,
And my rocket boots to traverse the sky,

Now I'm set and ready to go!
I think I'm forgetting something though...

Thursday, August 13, 2015

If your library participates in the Collaborative Summer Library Program, you are well aware of this year's awesome theme "Every Hero Has a Story." With that in mind, I planned my weekly story times around this theme. A ninja-themed storytime had to happen! I was kind of surprised that my preschoolers weren't as ninja crazy as the school-aged kids.* No matter. Follow Miss Jenny for some ninja fun!

*After story time was finished, a mom sent me a picture of her son practicing his ninja moves. He was using The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz as his guide. Epic storytime win!

Friday, June 19, 2015

The First Day of Summer is this weekend, and that means you'll be thinking of swimming and going to the beach. Some of you may vacation near the ocean. Get your kids excited about the summer by sharing these fun books and rhymes about the animals that live under the sea.

BOOKS:

I Spy Under the Sea by Edward GibbsMister Seahorse by Eric CarlePeanut Butter and Jellyfish by Jarrett KrosoczkaA Hole in the Bottom of the Sea by Jessica LawOne Lonely Seahorse by Saxton Freymann

RHMYES & SONGS:

"The Shark in the Sea"
(tune: "The Wheels on the Bus")

If you have various felt or finger puppets, you can use this as a flannelboard or glove puppet. Or, simply act out the motions as a fingerplay.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, (count fingers on right hand)
I caught a fish alive. ("catch" five fingers of right hand with left hand)
Why did you let it go? (release it suddenly)
Because it bit my fingers so! (shake right hand)

Five Little Seashells

Five little seashells lying on the shore.
Swish went the waves, and then there were four.
Four little seashells pretty as could be.
Swish went the waves, and then there were three.
Three little seashells all pearly new.
Swish went the waves, and then there were two.
Two little seashells shining in the sun.
Swish went the waves, and then there was one.
One little seashell left all alone.
I picked it up, and I took it home.

CRAFT:

We made Mister Seahorse! Okay, full disclosure. This craft takes prepping ahead of time. But, it was so darn cute, I HAD to share it with my storytime kids. I found the template and directions from I Heart Crafty Things. I never tried shaving cream painting, and it was awesome! I don't usually shy away from doing painting/messy crafts at storytime, but this process required drying before the kids could "lace" the hair, that I decided to prep all the seahorses the day before. I'm glad I did, because the "squeegeeing" was the hardest part! Fun fact: the paper retains the smell of the shaving cream. :-)

Friday, March 13, 2015

Penguins in March?! Yes. Because even though I originally did this storytime in January, penguins can be enjoyed all year long. Yep, I'm going with that reasoning rather than the truth, which is I'm two months behind on storytime posts. :P

I used this story as a flannelboard. The story and pattern can be found on Susan Dailey's website (link above). I modified the story for the different age groups and for the colors of felt I had. I made it interactive by handing out felt penguins and calling the kids up one by one to put their color penguin on the board. They loved it!

CRAFT:

We made Tacky the Penguin as our craft! There are several ideas online, but I found a nice template on Sturdy for Common Things. It has all the penguin parts, which makes this librarian's life easy when it comes to prepping a craft for 20 kids. My assistant Kelly, who is a life-saver, cut out all the pieces ahead of time, so all kids had to do was assemble their "Tacky" with a glue stick and add wiggle eyes. Isn't he adorable?

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Dr. Seuss' birthday was on March 2, so in honor of it, I planned a Seuss-centered storytime for my preschool group. It was a lot of fun and I found so many ideas online that I decided a Dr. Seuss Party is in order for this summer. That way, I can do even more activities and crafts. Oh, yeah!

BOOKS:

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue FishMr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?Green Eggs and HamOh, the Places You'll Go!The Cat in the HatRHYMES & SONGS:

"If You Like Dr. Seuss"
(tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It")

If you like Dr. Seuss, clap your hands.
If you like Dr. Seuss, clap your hands.
If you like Dr. Seuss when the Grinch is on the loose,
If you like Dr. Seuss, clap your hands.
If you like Green Eggs and Ham, stomp your feet.
If you like Green Eggs and Ham, stomp your feet.
If you like Green Eggs and Ham, then go tell Sam I Am,
If you like Green Eggs and Ham, stomp your feet.
If you like the Cat in the Hat, shout hooray!
If you like the Cat in the Hat, shout hooray!
If you like the Cat in the Hat, though he makes the fish so mad,
If you like the Cat in the Hat, shout hooray!

One Little Cat
(this can be used a a fingerplay with cat finger puppets or you can make "Cat in the Hat" puppets, which I didn't have time to do)

One little cat on a sunny day
Put on his hat and went out to play
Two little cats when the sky turned dark
Put on their hats and went to the park
Three little cats when the sky turned blue
Put on their hats and went to the zoo
Four little cats by the kitchen door
Put on their hats and went to the store
Five little cats on a sunny day
Put on their hats and they all ran away.

We usually only do one craft after I've finished reading books, but there were so many Seuss-themed crafts, that I planned two.

1. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
With their grown-up's help, children traced their hands onto four colors of construction paper and then cut them out. Using a glue stick, they glued their "fish" onto yellow construction paper to mimic the cover art of the book and finished the project with markers to make faces and water bubbles.

I want to give a shout-out to my helpers, LM and AM, who made the "example" crafts seen in both pictures. You did an awesome job!

2. The Cat in the Hat Prop
This is super-easy. You'll need craft sticks, red pom-poms, and black construction paper, cut into strips (three strips per person). Arrange them to look like whiskers and glue them onto the craft stick. Miss Maggie and I rock this look!

I made a lot of paper snowflakes the night before story time, and I passed them out for the children to hold and throw around as we sang this song. It was a lot of fun!

Five Little Snowmen
(This can be used as a flannel rhyme or just a fingerplay.)

Five little snowmen (hold up five fingers)
Standing in a row
Each with a hat (touch head)
And a big red bow. (tie bow under chin)
Out came the sun (arms circle)
And it stayed all day
And one little snowman (hold up one finger)
Melted away (finger bends down)

A chubby little snowman (make round tummy with arms)
Had a carrot nose (point to nose)
Along came a rabbit (hold up two fingers like ears and make rabbit hop)
And what do you suppose?
That hungry little bunny (rub tummy)
Was looking for his lunch (pretend to look around)
Ate that little snowman's nose (point to nose)
Nibble, nibble, CRUNCH! (nibble motion with hand and clap on CRUNCH)

"I'm a Little Snowflake"
by Laurie Berkner from her album Whaddaya Think of That?

I'm a little snowflake icy and round
I fall from the sky and I don't make a sound
When it's cold I'll stay all day
When it's warm I'll melt away.

I used this song along with our parachute. I had the children shake the parachute up and down really slowly and we put the paper snowflakes on top of it. They loved it!

CRAFT:

Fingerpaint Snow Globe
I found this idea on Pinterest and it's from Crafty Morning.It was easy to prep; just cut out circles and cut toilet paper tubes in half for the base of the snow globe.

ACTIVITY:

Play Snow
This is an inexpensive and fun sensory activity to do with children. You'll need two boxes of baking soda and a bottle of conditioner. Put the baking soda in a large mixing bowl and add about half of the conditioner. Stir this mixture together; it should be crumbly. Add more conditioner if needed until the mixture comes together in your hands and can be molded. You can use cookie cutters or other molds for the kids to play with. Super fun and it smells delightful!

DeWitt Community Library

About Me

I'm the Children's Librarian at DeWitt Community Library in DeWitt, a busy suburb of Syracuse, NY. When I'm not doing storytimes, crafts, programs, or pulling glue or other sticky things out of my hair, I love to read, watch movies, travel, and try out new restaurants and food. Life is good!!